The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC)
and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today
launch a new resource to promote gender ethical
journalism.

The Learning Resource Kit for
Gender-Ethical Journalism and Media House Policy is the
outcome of a project launched in July 2011 to promote fair
gender portrayal within media houses and the journalistic
profession.

The kit draws from the insights of media
practitioners, educators and communication researchers from
Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, North
America and Pacific. It brings together practical guidelines
to enhance women’s representation in media content and
encourage dialogue within media structures and
self-regulatory bodies together with civil society
groups.

The editors note that “portraying gender
in a fair and ethical manner will only occur when it becomes
a concern for everyone in the newsroom and beyond.
Journalists, photographers, news editors, camerawomen and
cameramen, cartoonists, media employers, self-regulatory
bodies, journalists’ schools, associations and unions, all
have a role to play in ensuring that media become an
effective mirror of society. Civil society actors can
support this process through monitoring, dialogue and
positive partnerships with media”.

The 2010 Global Media Monitoring
Project revealed a global average of barely one woman in
every four people was seen, heard or read about in news
stories. This is an improvement from 15 years ago when it
was less than one in five. However, the pace is slow. “We
know that quality journalism is ethical journalism, and that
ethical journalism includes full and fair representation of
the actions, opinions, concerns and aspirations of women
around the world,” comments WACC’s Deputy General
Secretary Lavinia Mohr. She hopes that the new resource
will help media decision makers, media professionals and
engaged media audiences increase the pace of change towards
fair representation and portrayal of women in
reporting.

“In the past years, the lack of gender
balance in news reporting has been one of IFJ's greatest
concerns in upholding journalists' ethics,” said IFJ
General secretary Beth Costa.“This resource kit
responds to this. It is a unique tool for media
professionals, media trainers and media employers to reflect
on the way gender is portrayed in the news and think again
about the effects biased gender portrayal can have on the
public's perception of society.”

More
on the publishersActive in media development
for more than 25 years, WACC is an international ecumenical
organisation with members in more than 120 countries. WACC
has coordinated the Global Media Monitoring Project which
every 5 years since 1995 has monitored the output of news
journalists, reporters, presenters and announcers on radio,
television and print media worldwide from a gender equality
perspective.

The IFJ, the world’s largest
organisation of journalists, is eager to promote ethical
journalism. In 2008 the organization launched the Ethical
Journalism Initiative (EJI) to encourage the reconciliation
of media professionals with their mission to provide the
public with fair, unbiased, well documented news reporting,
with a particular focus on fighting against stereotypes and
providing fair gender portrayal in news content.

Nelson Mandela, then Deputy President of the African National Congress of South Africa, raises his fist in the air while addressing the Special Committee Against Apartheid in the General Assembly Hall. UN Photo/P. Sudhakaran More>>